Changeable sign and actuating means therefor.



100.801,905. PATENTED 001:17, 1005. E.0.POHL.

GHANGEABLE SIGN AND ACTUATING MEANS THBREFOR..

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

/M @MM M QW M g W v @3% w@ 4... y MW- No. 801,905. PATBNTBD 00T. 17, 1905.- E.0.1 011L.

CHANGEABLE SIGN AND AGTUATING MEANS THEREFOR.

APrLIoATIoN FILED 11111.11, 1905.

IINITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

ERNEST O. POHL, CF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO H IM- SELF, MAURICE A. MACKEY, AND CHARLES H. HENKELS, ALL CF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHANGEABLE SIGN AND ACTUATING MEANS THEREFOR.

No. 801,905. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct. 17, 1905.

Application filed January S, 1905. Serial No. 239,364.

T U 1071/0717/ 771/507/ @0W/007W# shifting-lever and shifting-arms carried by Be it known that I, ERNEST O. POHL, acitithe same and means for actuating the lever;

Zen of the United States, residing at the city and Fig. 5 is a sectional view of .a portion of of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia the housing', illustrating in side elevation 5 and State of Pennsylvania, have invented cershelves or supports for the sign-plates and tain new and useful Improvements in Changeguides for a chain adapted to support and to able Signs and Actuating Means Therefor, of raisek and lower certain of the sign-plates.

which the following is a specification. Referring to the drawings, a represents a My invention has relation to changeable housing provided in the front wall a thereof 1o signs for advertising and other purposes, and with openings a2 and c3 and at the top with in such connection it relates more particularly a lid (of. As illustrated in Figs.' l, 3, and 5, to means for successively displaying in such adjacent to each side wall a5 and a of the 65 changeable signs the sign, lettering, or other housing a are arranged partition-walls band b', matter. provided with superposed shelves or ledges c I5 The principal objects of my invention are, and c, the-upper shelf c being provided with first, to provide a changeable sign with a severtically-disposed extensions c2 and c3, for a ries ofindependent sign-plates adapted for the purpose to be hereinafter more fully dereception and display of advertising or other scribed. The shelves c and c serve to supmatter; second, to provide means for periodicport two rows or series of disconnected signs.

20 ally displaying and removing each disconnect- Each sign consists of an oblong strip or plate ed sign-plate in regular sequence, and, third, d, preferably of metal. At the upper end to provide means adapted to receive certain of of each plate are provided blocks CZ', carrying 75 the display sign-plates and to store the same rollers (Z2, normally engaging the shelves cor for subsequent use. c', as illustrated in Figs. land 3. The blocks CZ',

25 My invention, stated in general terms, conpreferably square in cross-section, serve when sists of a changeable sign and actuating means resting' side by side to hold the plates or signs therefor, constructed and arranged in sub- CZ a certain distance apart from eachother and 8o stantially the manner hereinafter described to permit a predetermined number to be supand claimed. ported by each shelf c or c.' As illustrated 3o The nature and scope of my present invenin Fig. l, in the present instance five signs tion will be more fully understood from the d are supported by each" of the shelves c and following description, taken in connection c', while one sign opposite each series of five 85 with the accompanying drawings, forming signs is supported by two endless sprocketpart hereof, in whichchains e, increasing the number of signs to 3 5 Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of pesi'iiimeih rowor series. Each of the sprocketriodically-changeable sign-plates arranged chains e is supported by guide-rollersf, two in suspended series and illustrating also in of which by means of brackets f are secured side elevation means for actuating and disto the bottom of the housing a and another one playing certain of the sign-plates embodying and a sprocket-wheelm by similar bracketsf 4o main features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a toapartition-wall g, arrangedabove the upper side elevational View, partly sectioned, of a series of signs d. To prevent sidewise moveportion of a housing adapted to receive the ment of the chains opposite the rows of signs, sign-plates and of the actuating means therethe same are guided in grooves Z22, preferably for and illustrating, also in front elevation, arranged in the partition-walls and 7). as

45 a portion of the means for raising and lowerillustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. Certain of the ing certain of the sign-plates'and for bringlinks a of the sprocket-chains e, in the presing the same into and out of engagement with ent instance each fifth link e, is provided with 10o i the raising and lowering means. Fig. 3 is a a projection or 'bracket e2, which being inlongitudinal sectional view of the housing, dented forms a seat for the roller (J2 of a 5o illustrating in top or plan view actuating sign-plate CZ, holding the same securely in means for the sign-plates and means for conposition thereon. As illustrated in Fig. 1, trolling the operation of the same. Fig. 4c is the sign-plate d, the greater portion of which 105 a detail view illustrating in side elevation a is visible through the opening a3 of the housing CC, is supported by the sprocket-chains e, while the sign-plate CZ, visible through the opening C02, is supported by the lower shelf c. In order to change the sign-plates opposite the openings Ca2 and CL3 and to expose other sign-plates before the same, itis necessary to shift the upper sign-plate carried by the sprocket-chains e onto the upper shelf c and at the same time to shift the sign-plate CZ, car- IO rierl by the lower shelf c', onto the brackets e2 of the chains e. By the shifting of these sign-plates the last of the upper series of plates at the right-hand side of Fig. 1 is shifted by the movement of the plates thereon onto the I5 bracket e2 of the chains c, while the last signplate of the lower series of plates at the same time is shifted onto the lower shelf c'. To both chains e are now imparted a movement from left to right in Fig. 1, by means of 2O which the plate in front of the lower series of plates is raised and the plate in rear of the upper series of plates is lowered to change their positions with respect to the suspended series of said plates. ,f The preferred mechanism for shifting the l/sign-plates CZ and for actuating the chains e j and the plates carried by the same is as follows: At each end of the housing CC and pivotf ally secured at the point /L/ to the partitionwalls and Z' thereof is arranged a lever ZL, having laterally-extending arms h2 and 7b3, the bent end ZL* of each of which passes throug'h openings C08, arranged in the housing CZ and terminating, respectively, in front and in rear 3S of each of the series of plates. At the upper end of each of the levers 7i, hereinafter called shifting-levers, is arranged a slot h5, which is engaged by acrank-arm c", secured to the end of a shaft t', carried by standards Z2, supported 4o by the partition-wall LC/. The partition-wall g also serves to support two concentric bevelgears Zr and Z3', connected with each other, of which the outer gear Zt" is provided with teeth arranged in a semicircle,leaving the other half,

k2, thereof toothless. The inner bevel-gear 7c meshes with a bevel-gear Z, secured to ashaft Z, and the outer gear Z6 meshes alternately with a bevel-gear Z3, 'liXed to the shaft c', and with a bevel-gear Z1, loosely mounted thereon.

To the bevel-gear i* is rigidly secured a gearwheel Z5, and both wheels are held in position on the shaft a' by collars 6, secured to the same. The gear-wheel meshes with a gearwheel m2, rigidly secured to a shaft m, which at its ends carries the sprocket-wheels m', ac-

tuating the endless chains e. When the shaft Z/ by means of the crank-arm Z2 or by any other suitable means (not shown) is rotated, the movement thereof is transmitted by the bevel-gear Z to the bevel-gears ZC and ZZ, which are rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. The outer bevel-gear 7c' being first broughtinto engagement with the bevelgear Z rotates the shaft c', which by means of its arms @'"oscillates the shifting-levers ZL on their fulcral point ZL. The shifting-arms h2 and 71,3, carried by the shifting-levers 72 arranged at each end of the housing CZ, are now moved into the housing from opposite sides and by respectively engaging the blocks CZ of the sign-plates CZ, supported by the chains e, shift the same onto the shelves c and c. By these movements the last sign-plate of the upper series of plates and the first sign-plate of the lower series of plates are shifted onto the brackets e2 of the chains e. By the further rotation of the bevelgear Zr the bevel-gear Zt" is brought out of engagement with the bevel-gear 3, driving the shaft t', which now comes to a standstill and into engagement with a bevel-gear z, while the toothless portion /02 thereof moves inactive below the bevel-gear 3. The bevel-'gear 3 and shaft Z during their rotation have described a complete revolution, by means of which the shifting-arms 72,2 and Z13 are first moved forward and then backward into their normal position, as illustrated in Figs. l and 3. The bevel-gear f* being now actuated by the bevel -gear Zr rotates the shaft m, and sprocket-wheels m', through the intervention ofthe gear-wheels and m2, affording a complete revolution thereof. By this movement of the sprocket-wheels 97?/ the chains e are moved forward for the distance of five links e, which in the present instance is sufhcient to raise the sign-plate of the lower series of plates carried and held by the same opposite the opening' CL2 of thehousing and to bring the same opposite the opening C03 of thehousing and at the same time lower the sign-plate CZ of the upper series of plates and to bring the same into alinement with the lower series of plates. The sign-plate CZ, previously visible through the opening CL2, is now visible through the opening CCS, and a plate of the lower series of plates and previously covered by the raised plate is now visible through the opening Co2, the shifting of all plates andthe simultaneous raising and lowering of two plates being continuous in regular sequence and in the manner hereinbefore described until all the plates have been displayed through the openings CC2 and CL3 of the housing CC. After this the cycle in the plate-display commences anew. During thegaising and lowering of the sign-plates CZ the rollers CZzthereof abut against the shelf extensions c2 and c3, respectively, of the upper shelf c and against the side walls CC and CZ of the housing CC, as will be readily understood in connection with Fig. 3. The shelves c and c' are provided with raised end portions c4, which hold the rollers CZ2 securely in position during the respective raising and lowering of two plates, as hereinbefore fully explained.

The sign-plates CZ being independent of and disconnected from each other and the shifting-arms 7b2 and h3, as well as the chains e, the ready removal and replacement of said signplates by others are permitted thereby.

Having thus described the nature and ob- IIO 2. In a changeable sign, a housing having partition-walls, guides formed therein, chains having projections passing therethrough, superposed shelves carried by said Walls, signplates arranged in series and having rollers supported by said shelves and by theprojections of said chains, an oscillating lever connected with each of said walls, arms connected With said levers and passing through said housing to engage the series of signplates from opposite sides, and means adapted to actuate said oscillating means to move the series of signs in opposite directions to each other.

3. In a changeable sign, sign plates arranged in series and disconnected from each other, blocks for holding the sign-plates a certain distance apart in each series, superposed shelves and endless chains coperating to sup- 4 ranged in series and disconnected from each other, blocks for holding the sign-plates at a certain distance apart in each series, superposed shelves and endless chains arranged adjacent theretoand cooperating to'support the series of signs and each shelf independently exposing one of the signs in each series, oscillating levers having an arm at each end engaging the signs supported by the chains to shift a sign onto each of the shelves and from each shelf another sign back onto said chains, a shaft having crank-arms for actuatirig said levers, a second shaft having sprocket-Wheels for actuating said chains and means for actuating each of said shafts successively and independently of each other.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ERNEST O. POHL.

Witnesses:

J. WALTER DoUGLAss, THOMAS M. SMITH, 

